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Hi, I'm confused : When the singer sings Bb on the C chord and stays there you have to resolve to F so its quite different to levante where you have to resolve from G to D (IV-I) Is that everything or is there a similiar "levante chord change" in malaguena (resolve from F to C)? I hope you understand my question, I'm very confused
Posts: 15725
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Malaguena accompaniment (in reply to callemunicion)
quote:
ORIGINAL: callemunicion
Hi, I'm confused : When the singer sings Bb on the C chord and stays there you have to resolve to F so its quite different to levante where you have to resolve from G to D (IV-I) Is that everything or is there a similiar "levante chord change" in malaguena (resolve from F to C)? I hope you understand my question, I'm very confused
It depends on the specific melody, but basically yes that's what is going on. Look at the flatted note as a secondary dominant 7th. In other words from the start you might hear the singer hold F to call in the C chord. That would be like F in the G7 chord. But you ANSWER to C major to keep the "fandango" basic structure. Next, as you pointed out, Bb calls the F chord, that is again like a C7 but you answer with F. Typically the phrase that goes to G chord is the one actually called in by the G note or a B note or other chord tone, again depending on melody.
As a musician with a good ear this all doesn' make a lot of sense at first, it is more about traditional practice. I performed one Malagueña by a famous pro singer and where the F chord is called in she sang a G, and I played the traditional F and she said "no!"...so I gave her G where everybody else does F. To me it was absolutely a mistake based on the traditional practice, but to be a good accompanist you have to do as you are told and make the cantaor comfortable.
IN my musical mind I would want to first play the dominant 7th on each of these examples then resolve...you notice in Taranto for baile and such this happens more often than just for cante alone. I was quite happy to hear moraito with Terremoto jr, doing Malagueña de Mellizo to give a very very quiet F chord with the singer in the first line resolution that normally just goes straight to C major after the F note is sung. It means that the musical mind is still at work in the flamenco world despite the obvious "rule breaking" that is so important to tradition.
RE: Malaguena accompaniment (in reply to callemunicion)
Great thanks! Here is an example where Carmen Linares sings a F and Cepero answers with C major. It confused me a lot because I never understood it as the 7th of the dominant chord. Thanks a lot!
Posts: 15725
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Malaguena accompaniment (in reply to callemunicion)
Yes just like I described above that melody goes to F for every C chord change and then I think she sings B to call in the G chord.
Here is the famous Mellizo malagueña and if you look at moraito at 3:11 he moves from G7 to F and very very softly strums it under his F note before doing the run back up to C major. I think he really wants to just hit the F major there but it's not really part of the traditional style.
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